Thursday, April 8, 2010

Return Manufacturing to U.S.

We need targeted tax reduction for manufacturers for all product they develop or manufacture in the U.S. This would be a large tax reduction and should apply to both engineering and manufacturing activity. We need to give manufacturing the incentive to do either or both in the U.S. We may also need a tariff on manufactured goods designed or produced overseas. The combination should neutralize the cost advantage manufacturers now face when determining how much manufacturing they need to off-shore in order to remain competitive. No other segment of the economy is worth subsidizing or bailing out. I would remove subsidies to non-production segments to pay for returning manufacturing to the U.S.
Some manufacturing will remain in the U.S. Some are operations with high automation and specialized production equipment, like plastics injection molding for plastic buckets or blow-mold plastic milk bottles. These plants should be close to customer facilities to allow real-time supply chain delivery. If the paint or milk is made in the U.S., the buckets and bottles will be made in the U.S.

Cost reduction in manufacturing is continual. When new products are developed, the tendency was to do all the engineering design, process development, automation and production in the U.S., preferably with all functions in the same location until processes were defined. After the processes have been defined and the production lines and enhancement plans are fully developed, the manufacturer can move the entire operation to a NO TAX, LOW COST country.

Electronics manufacturers currently reduce their costs by outsourcing manufacturing and sustaining engineering to OEM contract manufacturers overseas. Most electronics boards are stuffed overseas with high-speed component insertion equipment. Design and development of new product typically continues to be done in the U.S. This is true for manufacturers of automobiles and other durable goods where electronics is a component of the product.
In recent years, manufacturing companies have adopted LEAN MANAGEMENT principles and strategies. These involve Teams and processes and rely on non-adversarial workforces. These strategies allow companies to continually reduce costs and improve quality.

These companies will not return manufacturing to the U.S. if they think Unions will be successful in organizing their workforces. CARD CHECK is a job killer. Current manufacturers who do have operations in the U.S. will go overseas if Card Check is passed. Union labor was the first group whose work was sent overseas. The reasons are obvious.

Finally, “green jobs” is a hoax wrapped in a scam. Global warming is the hoax and green jobs are the scam. Wind and solar cost 5 times what coal and nuclear cost. The Cap & Trade tax will be passed on from utilities to customers’ bills. Customers want economical energy; government wants expensive energy. Who works for who ?

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